Train to Live!

"Man, I'm too old to play like that." "Let me take a break before we keep going."

These are a few things I heard the other day while I was at the park with one of my son's, who was at a birthday party. He was running around with a friend playing tag, so I was just watching him and all the other kids playing hard on a great Saturday afternoon.

I was over where the little kids were playing (like 2-4 year old area), but my son is around 8, so he was over with the bigger kids. There were a few small kids on this merry-go-round apparatus looking thing. There was a mom out there pushing them back and forth; she looked to be younger than me, probably mid-30s. She had been doing it for maybe 5-8 minutes, and then came over to sit on the bench with her friend, out of breath, and said, "Man I'm too old to play like that."

Her statement really resonated with me. As I continued to watch and check on my own son, I scanned all of the adults there at the park. The majority of them appeared to be the same as the mom that I mentioned above; 30s-40s and mostly sedentary appearing. Now, please, I am not shaming anyone or thinking that I am better than all of them because I train more days than not, this is just an observation. The United States, in general, is suffering from an obesity and sedentary epidemic. The more obese and non-moving we are, the more chronic medical conditions continue to arise: hypertension, type II diabetes, chronic pain, and so on. The latest statistic I have seen is approximately 42% of Americans are obese. 42%!

Now there are some people on the opposite end of the spectrum, who go to the gym, maybe too much. Exercise and body composition addiction is a real thing as well. I know there are people that are so obsessed with training, body composition and having to look good on Instagram or Facebook, that it affects their lives as well. These people Live to Train.

Do I love training? Of course I do. Why do I train? I choose to train for many reasons. First and foremost, I truly enjoy it. Training is my one vice that if I don't do it for a few days in a row, I am irritable, and just don't feel good. If you haven't ever been in the gym or on a run, having done a hard session, and how good you feel when you are done, then you are missing out.

Another reason I choose to train is I want to increase my longevity. I don't want to be like the example above, where I cannot play with my kids or someday, with my grandkids, because I'm too old, out of shape or overweight. I want to be able to have a training session and then still be able to shoot hoops, play soccer or run around the playground without feeling wiped out. To me, that is training to live.

As a physician who does surgery and wound care, I see so many chronic ailments that affects people's day to day lives. I see people have to get amputations of toes, lower legs and sometimes all of a leg, due to diabetes, renal disease, etc. I see this, and this is another reason I train to live.

Training to live doesn't have to be redlining on the latest Crossfit workout or running an ultra marathon. If you are currently like the mom who cannot play with her child, start simple. Put on your shoes and go for a walk. Just start there, then as things improve, and you realize that you feel better, then we can crank it up a little more.

If you want to learn more about training to live, shoot me an email at m9maximumperformance@gmail.com and I will begin working with you on a personalized fitness and lifestyle program in order for you to feel better, increase your energy, and enhance your longevity. Don't live to train, I want you to train to live!